As one former Australian soldier put it, ANZAC Day acknowledges the ultimate sacrifice made for peace and liberty by so many servicemen and women across two nations.

This year ANZAC Day – April 25 – falls on a Thursday with Dawn Services taking place throughout Australia and New Zealand.

“ANZAC Day should be about remembering our fallen service personnel, all of them,” Ken Zulumovski, an Aboriginal man who served in the Royal Australian Artillery Corps, told a City of Sydney newsletter last year.

“The diggers I talk to make one thing very clear from the outset – their bond for one another is unbreakable, their loyalty to their nation and communities unwavering, and they fight for what is right.”

Service & March

In the Brisbane CBD, the ANZAC Day Dawn Service will be held at 4am for 4.28am at 4.20AM at the Shrine of Remembrance, Anzac Square, Adelaide Street, Brisbane.

The Shrine of Remembrance consists of a Grecian Doric circular colonnade of 18 columns representing the year of peace, 1918. Written around the top coping are the names of the battles in which Australian units figured prominently and in the centre is the Eternal Flame of Remembrance, set in a bronze urn with the word Remembrance repeated around the bottom.

The service is followed by the ANZAC Day Parade, starting at 9.45am at Anzac Square, Adelaide Street, between George Street and Creek Street. on which moves along Elizabeth Street from 9AM.

The public is invited to attend and watch both the service and march in person and the Brisbane March will be broadcast live between 10am and 12.30pm (AEST) on ABC TV and ABC iview.

Nurses Memorial Candlelight Vigil

The Nurses Memorial Candlelight Vigil, held on the eve of Anzac Day, commemorates the service of nursing over more than the 100 years in which Australia has been involved in conflicts.

Everyone is welcome to attend on Wednesday 24 April 2024 – 5.30pm for 6.00pm at the Nurses’ Memorial, Anzac Square, Adelaide Street, Brisbane.

Gallipoli service

ANZAC Day’s most reverential and solemn service takes place in Gallipoli, Türkiye (Turkey).

This is the site of where more than 10,000 ANZACs lost their lives in World War I. (In total, more than 130,000 people were killed there on both sides of the battle.)

The Dawn Service commences at 5:30AM local time and can be seen live on all TV networks.

96five ANZAC Service

96five will once again pause to remember our service men and women this ANZAC Day.

The 96five Dawn Service will be broadcast from 6am and 11am and will feature readings and reflections from Chaplain Stephen Briggs (Australian Navy), Chaplain Sarah Petchell (Australian Army) and Deacon Peter Pellicaan from the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. The service will be hosted by 96five’s Arthur Muhl.

Other services

According to the QLD Returned and Service’s League (RSL) there are almost 400 commemorative events scheduled to take place across QLD including dawn services, local marches and gunfire breakfasts.

“As we gather on ANZAC Day, we’re reminded of the unity that has been forged from the sacrifices of our fallen. This year, we’re encouraging Australians young and old to take the opportunity to come together and strengthen the unbreakable bonds of mateship that live on in our hearts,” RSL Queensland State President Major General Stephen Day DSC AM said in a statement.

To find a service in your area, visit RSL QLD.

Service traditions

All services are accompanied by the Last Post’s bugle call and the Ode of Remembrance:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them.

The Ode is the fourth stanza of poet and playwright Laurence Binyon’s poem For the Fallen, which was published in the UK’s Times during World War I.

ANZAC Round

Many traditions come with ANZAC Day, including ANZAC biscuits, Gunfire breakfasts and Two-Up. There’s also the ANZAC Round where Queensland’s sports team don ANZAC Round Jersey’s to commemorate the day.

Inspired by Anzac Square, the Brisbane Broncos ANZAC Round jersey features the Shrine of Remembrance and the Eternal Flame, located in the Heart of Brisbane.

“It’s always a special round on the rugby league calendar,” said Brisbane Bronco Corey Jensen in a statement from the club.

“Being from Townsville, obviously one of the biggest garrison cities in the country and having spent a great deal of time there, I know how important the Defence Force is to the community.

“We’ve got Enoggera Barracks just down the road from Red Hill too, so it’s always special to be able to play our small part in paying tribute to their sacrifices and those soldiers that have come before them.”

The ANZAC Round Jersey’s will be auctioned off and the club will match the auction proceeds with donations going to Queensland Veterans’ Council.

The Brisbane Lions will also honour the ANZACs by wearing a limited edition guernsey for their ANZAC Day clash against the GWS Giants at Maunka Oval in Canberra.

For the first time since 2014, the Lions will play on ANZAC Day, with the last time coming against St Kilda.

ANZAC Biscuits

The army biscuit, also known as an Anzac wafer or Anzac tile, is essentially a long shelf-life, hard tack biscuit.

Many version of the recipe exist including the traditional recipe and healthier alternatives.


Feature image: Photo by CanvaPro

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